genus

C2+ Topic:Biology & Genetics

US /ˈdʒinəs/ UK /ˈdʒiːnəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a taxonomic rank grouping related species above the species level

The domestic dog belongs to the genus Canis.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a taxonomic rank grouping... class category kind group type sort

Word family

Derived forms genericgenerical

Related forms gender genre general

Simplified etymology

Latin genus means “birth, family, nation.” The word was already used in English logic by the mid-16th century and was reborrowed in the early 17th century for scientific classification.

Etymology

From Latin 'genus' ('birth, race, kind, class'), from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ǵenh₁-' ('to give birth, beget').

genus Latin *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Biology & Genetics Animals

External links

# genus

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdʒinəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdʒiːnəs/

## Meanings
1. a taxonomic rank grouping related species above the species level

## Examples
- The domestic dog belongs to the genus Canis.

## Synonyms
- class
- category
- kind
- group
- type
- sort

## Derived Forms
- generic
- generical

## Related Forms
- gender
- genre
- general

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: genus
- Root: *ǵenh₁-

## Etymology
From Latin 'genus' ('birth, race, kind, class'), from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ǵenh₁-' ('to give birth, beget').

## AI Etymology
Genus comes from Latin 'genus' ('birth, race, kind, class'), from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ǵenh₁-' ('to give birth, beget'). The historical trail runs through Latin genus and Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-. In modern use it means a taxonomic rank grouping related species above the species level. Derived formations include generic, generical; related forms include gender, genre, general.

## Topics
- Biology & Genetics
- Animals

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